Package for cylindrical articles or objects



Aug. 12, 1969 HARM 3,460,671

PACKAGE FOR CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES OR OBJECTS Filed Aug. 2, 1967 I N VEN'TOR.

Alson Robert Harm ATTORNEY United States Patent M 3,460,671 PACKAGE FOR CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES OR OBJECTS Alson Robert Harm, Colerain, Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, assignor to The Procter & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Aug. 2, 1967, Ser. No. 657,899 Int. Cl. B65d 85/62, 65/00, 75/00 U.S. Cl. 206-65 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A package for a plurality of cylindrical articles arranged with parallel axes and coplanar end surfaces. The articles are held in contiguous relationship by a band of flexible wrapping material, the ends of which extend beyond and are folded down against the end surfaces of the articles. Separate end panels are sealed against the folded down portions to complete the package.

This invention relates to the art of packaging a plurality of cylindrical articles or objects. More particularly, it encompasses a package for such articles in which the package has large unobstructed surface areas for receiving,

advertising and printed matter.

In the packaging of products that are in the form of cylinders, e.g., toilet tissue rolls, hand towel rolls, metal cans, etc., it is a common practice to form packages containing two or more of the articles for multiple sale and promotion purposes. Because of the geometry of cylindrical articles, the packages so formed do not readily lend themselves to neatly formed closures that are relatively free of lumpish tucks and seams. The resultant package has areas containing bulky and unattractive folds in addition to requiring an added amount of wrapping material. Prior structures also diminished the surface area available for the placement of advertising copy, instructions, and other desirable printed matter.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a package for enclosing two or more cylinderical articles such that their axes are in spaced parallel relationship. The package is formed from flexible wrapper material such that it substantially reduces the amount of excess material at the end surfaces of the cylindrical articles by the elimination of tucking and folding at these surfaces.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a package of the above character in which the complete package requires a relatively smaller amount of wrapper material for any given combination of cylindrical articles being packaged.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of an improved package structure of the above character in which cylindrical articles are packaged in such a manner as to provide a maximum number of clear, unobstructed panel areas. This permits the printing of ad- 'vertising and like material in large and bold type as is the preferred practice for commercially marketed packages destined for sale in the retail trade.

The nature and substance of the invention can be summarized as comprising a package which is preferably formed around a pair of cylindrical articles packaged in side-by-side relationship such that their axes are substantilly parallel and their cylindrical outer surfaces are in contiguous relationship. A band of Wrapper material is placed around the roll pair such that the ends of the band extend beyond the flat end surfaces of the cylindrical articles. The extending ends of the band are folded down against the fiat end surfaces of the tissue rolls. Properly 3,460,671 Patented Aug. 12, 1969 shaped end panels are sealed to the folded down end portions of the band to complete the package structure.

While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter regarded as forming the present invention, it is believed the invention will be better understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of a partially formed package in which a band has been formed around a pair of toilet tissue rolls.

FIGURE 2 is an isometric view similar to FIGURE 1 in which the extending end portions of the band have been folded down against the flat end surfaces of the rolls.

FIGURE 3 is an isometric view similar to FIGURES 1 and 2 in which an end panel has been attached to the flat end surface at one end of the package.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary elevation taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 3 showing the seal between the folded down portion of the band and the end panel.

The invention is particularly adapted to the packaging of cylindrical objects in a generic sense. It is preferably utilized in the packaging of toilet tissue rolls although this should not be construed as placing any limitations on the scope of the invention.

In its most preferred form, two toilet tissue rolls are placed in side-by-side relation with their axes parallel as exemplified by the rolls 11 and 12 in FIGURE 1 of the drawings. The rolls 11 and 12 are placed such that their cylindrical surfaces are contiguous and their end surfaces substantially coplanar. A band 13 of flexible packaging material is placed snugly around the rolls 11 and 12 to maintain them in contiguous relationship on their cylindrical surfaces. The ends 14 and 15 of the band 13 are overlapped whereupon a seam 16 is formed in the overlap area to complete the band 13 around the rolls. It will be noted that the seam is substantially parallel to the axes of the rolls I1 and 12. Furthermore, in a preferred form of the invention, the seam 16 is placed such that it runs along the line of tangency between the portion of band material 13 which does not contact the rolls and the cylindrical surface of the roll 12.

The width of the band 13 is selected such that extensions 17 and 18 are provided extending beyond the planar end surfaces of the rolls 11 and 12. The extensions 17 and 18 are then folded inwardly and downwardly against the planar end surfaces of the rolls 11 and 12 to achieve the configuration best illustrated in FIGURE 2. The package in FIGURE 2 has been turned with respect to the package illustrated in FIGURE 1. Thus, the seam 16 appears on the back side of the package, as illustrated in FIGURE 2. Thus, one of the advantages of the package is also shown in FIGURE 2, viz the completely unobstructed front side or panel for the provision of advertising and printed material that normally appears on commercial packages of this kind.

An end panel 19 (see FIGURES 3 and 4) is cut to overlap the edge of the downfolded extension 17 thereby covering one end of the package. The end panel 19 is placed over the end as shown in FIGURE 3 whereupon the peripheral edge of the end panel 19 is sealed as at 20 in FIGURE 4 to complete the enclosure of the rolls 11 and 12 at one end. While only one end panel 19 may be sufiicient to complete the package in some cases, it is more usual to provide a substantially similar end panel (not shown) similarly attached on the other end of the package to complete the formation thereof.

The package is capable of formation from virtually any kind of flexible wrapping material, including various papers,, foils, papers coated with any of a variety of heat scalable films, plastic wrapping films such as polyethylene, polypropylene, etc. In the preferred form, the package is made from heat shrinkable plastic films that are uniaxially oriented. While it has been found that best results are achieved with uniaxially oriented heat shrinkable plastic films, bidirectionally oriented films may also be used with results that are nearly as satisfactory although small wrinkles and folds may occur in the finished package with the latter type of material. In fact, no-shrinking films can also be used, but in that case the downfolded extensions 17 and 18 as in FIGURE 2 will have some folds due to the geometry of the package.

Thus, in a preferred practice of the invention, a thin, low density, heat shrinkable uniaxially oriented polyethylene wrapping film is used for the band 13 and the end panels 19. The direction of grain orientation in the band 13 preferably is parallel to the end surfaces of the rolls 11 and 12 as shown by the arrow 21 in FIGURE 1. The use of heat sealable material permits joinder of the ends of the band 13 by means of a heat seal at 16. With the grain oriented in the preferred direction, the banded toilet tissue rolls can be passed through a heat shrink tunnel whereupon the extensions 17 and 18 are shrunk in place readily and quickly to form the package to the point illustrated in FIGURE 2. The package is completed by heat sealing the end panel 19 to the downfolded extension 17 to form the seam 20.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A package for cylindrical articles placed side-byside with their axes substantially parallel, their cylindrical outer surfaces in substantially contiguous relationship and their two end surfaces in parallel, coplanar relationship, said package comprising a blank of wrapper material placed snugly around the cylindrical surfaces of said cylindrical articles to maintain the articles in contacting relationship, said band being formed by lapping the ends of a length of wrapper material at the line of tangency between the portion of the band material which does not contact said cylindrical outer surfaces and the cylindrical surface of one of said articles, a seam being formed in the area of said lapped ends, the ends of said band extending beyond the ends of the cylindrical surfaces of said articles and being folded downwardly against the two coplanar end surfaces of said cylindrical articles and at least one end panel sealed around the periphery of the folded down portion of said band of wrapper material.

2. A package as claimed in claim 1 wherein said wrapper material is a uniaxially oriented heat shrinkable plastic film, the grain orientation of said film being parallel to the end surfaces of said cylindrical articles.

3. A package as claimed in claim 2 wherein said cylindrical articles comprise two rolls of toilet tissue paper.

4. A package as claimed in claim 3 wherein said plastic film is polyethylene.

5. A package for cylindrical articles placed side-byside with their axes substantially parallel, their cylindrical outer surfaces in substantially contiguous relationship and their two end surfaces in parellel, coplanar relationship, said package comprising a band of wrapper material placed snugly around the cylindrical surfaces of said cylindrical articles in contacting relationship, said band being formed by lapping the ends of a length of wrapper material in the area of the cylindrical outer surface of one of said cylindrical articles, a seam being formed in the area of said lapped ends, the lateral ends of said band extending beyond the ends of the cylindrical surfaces of said articles and being folded downwardly against the two coplanar end surfaces of said cylindrical articles and at least one end panel heat sealed to the peripheral area of the folded down portion of said band of wrapper material.

6. A package as claimed in claim 5 wherein said wrapper material is a uniaxially oriented heat shrinkable plastic film, the grain orientatio-n of said film being parallel to the end surfaces of said cylindrical articles.

7. A package as claimed in claim 6 wherein said cylindrical articles comprise two rolls of toilet tissue paper.

8. A package as claimed in claim 7 wherein said plastic film is polyethylene.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,790,286 4/1957 Snyder 215-38 X 2,913,105 11/1959 Brunsing 206- 3,101,847 8/ 1963 Bruce 206-65 3,111,221 11/1963 Chapman et al 206-65 3,120,337 2/1964 Thomsen 229-87 3,395,290 1/1967 Billingsley et a1.

MARTHA L. RICE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 229-87 

